When the English Labour Network was launched in July 2017 we were one of the few organisations arguing that Labour had to win in England, outside the major cities, to form a government.

A lot has happened since then. Backed by data from the brilliant Centre for Towns, the future of English towns is now at the centre of political debate and Jeremy Corbyn last year launched a powerful video setting our Labour’s message for England outside the cities.

But Labour still lags behind the Tories amongst working class voters and those who feel English more than British are much less likely to see Labour as their party.

On 16 July the English Labour Network will be holding an event in Reading West with 2022 parliamentary candidate Rachel Eden, our director John Denham, Huffington Post writer Rabbil Sikdar and other speakers to be confirmed. We will discuss:

What kind of stories about place and nation resonate with local people?

How should Labour appeal to voters with strong local and national identities?

What policies come top of these voters’ concerns?

What does ‘take back control’ mean for local people?

How do we campaign effectively and show Labour stands for their interests?

Please register to let us know you’re coming, and please do join us before hand at 5pm to campaign for Rachel. We look forward to seeing you there.